Local historian’s website provides regional Revolutionary War resources

you’re looking to gain a local perspective on New Jersey’ role in the Revolutionary War ahead of the July 4 holiday, check out Historian Al Frazza’s website RevolutionaryWarNewJersey.com. It is considered by some to be the most comprehensive field guide to N.J.’s Revolutionary War historic sites. It features photographs and information on 650 historic Revolutionary War sites in the N.J. area.

Sussex County is well-represented, with photos and information on 22 historic sites in nine towns, including one in Hamburg, two in Newton, three in Andover, and four in Wantage. There are a hundred more historic sites featured in the neighboring counties of Warren, Morris, and Passaic.

According a spokesperson for Frazza, the website is utilized by thousands of people every week to help them explore and learn about New Jersey local history, and “provides the perfect starting point for those looking to begin their own historic explorations for the 4th of July holiday.”

Frazza’s work on the website earned him the 2018 History Award of the Chinkchewunska Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which is based in Wantage. The award was given “in recognition of his outstanding dedication to the preservation and sharing of New Jersey History.”

Frazza recently published a book about the years he spent exploring New Jersey’s history, titled “State of Revolution: My Seven-And-A-Half-Year Journey Through Revolutionary War New Jersey.” The book is part memoir, part history, part travelogue, and part love letter to the state of New Jersey. One chapter in the book, titled, “Just Keep Moving,” tells the humorous story of a brutally cold day Frazza spent photographing the Hamburg Baptist Church Cemetery in Hamburg.